Call to address critical care nursing shortage

IN HIGHLIGHTING the urgent need for critical care nursing in South Africa, a professor from the University of Pretoria (UP) pointed out that the country only has 62,46 critical care-trained nurses registered with the South African Nursing Council.

- ZELDA VENTER

South Africa's population of 64 million is meanwhile supported by only 4,719 critical care beds. Around 1,186 of these beds are in the public sector and 3,533 in the private sector.

In an inaugural address at the UP, newly appointed Professor Isabel Coetzee-Prinsloo outlined a transformative vision for critical care in South Africa. She presented what she termed the "three pillars of excellence in critical care" - quality education, practice development, and knowledge translation.

She emphasised the role of specialised critical care nursing and said critical care units were nurse-led, and critically ill patients were cared for and managed by highly skilled critical care nurses in collaboration with physicians and intensivists. This lived reality, she said, underscores the urgent need for a structured, multifaceted approach to sustaining and enhancing excellence in the field.